Comment 78381

By Borrelli (registered) | Posted June 12, 2012 at 11:26:23

When you need a license, you can go get one. Until then, what's the rush?

Well, if the graduated licensing system is more or less the same as it was when I went through it, the rush is so you don't have a restricted license when you actually need it. "Waiting until you need it" won't do you a lot of good if you ALSO need someone in the car with you, and can't use a 400-series highway, for the first 12mos or so.

As a culture, we are still too over-invested in the idea of a license and car ownership as rites of passage, to put what is essentially a practical decision in its proper context.

Car ownership aside, as Ryan said, getting licensed under Ontario's graduated licensing system is a right of passage for many kids outside of urban areas.

The association with "freedom" isn't just a marketing gimmick aimed at Boomers dreaming of taking their Porche out for a scenic drive. Young people w/o acces to transit get access to wheels in order to open up their lives. Young parents (like us) get cars because because we would visit family in two provinces far less if we had to take a plane/train/bus. Same with running errands, going to an app't on a lunch-hour, etc. etc. I spend ~4hrs/day commuting on public transit, so saving 30mins on a bus to get to the grocery store after work by driving 10mins is more free time for me.

Maybe it's just a personality thing, but I just don't get the "wait until you need it" approach because I don't see why someone would turn down learning a useful and widespread skill, unless they're just ideologically opposed to it. Same applies to learning first-aid, or being trained on employment standards or health-and-safety in your workplace--if there's a low-cost way of significantly upping your skill-set, why not do it?

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